Minister says no to fracking ban near public drinking water

The West Australian Government has ruled out a ban on fracking for shale gas near public drinking water.

The WA Water Corporation has called for fracking to be prohibited in or near public water supplies because of concerns the fracturing of rock to release natural gas could contaminate water.

Mines and Petroleum Minister Bill Marmion says there is no need for a ban because any application by an oil and gas company to frack near drinking water would face tough scrutiny.

"If you've got a tenement it's unlikely that you're going to put into the State Government that, 'I'm going to drill through the public water supply', you're obviously taking a very big risk in terms of the assessment of that," he said.

"It would be assessed under fairly rigorous conditions ... the water supply is paramount."